Tyler Flowers

by gopherbroke on Oct 23, 2008 5:09 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

Havent seen the recent updates from the AFL so I thought I would post this after seeing Flowers hit his third home run in the last two games, and he is now 5-6 with 3 HR, and is absolutely tearing the cover off the baseball out in Mesa. This may be his coming out party to the rest of the scouting world. He has been considered a top braves prospect for at least all of this year, but if he keeps this up he could be making a run at some top 50 prospect lists.

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Any chance of Flowers possibly moving to another position? I know 1st base has been talked about. Outfield perhaps? He can’t possibly be worse there than Burrell. I’m not sure how much of an athletic catcher he is to make that big of a move. Anyone?

by BravesFan on Oct 23, 2008 8:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He played 1st at Rome....

…..and he was pretty good. As a matter of fact, he played most of that year at 1st and worked pretty hard to improve over there. I listed Freeman low on my prospects list (17 or something) because he still has a lot to prove above the Low A level. Flowers has proven (and continues to in the AFL) that he’s quite a hitter. He may not want to move to 1st, but I really see him as our 1st baseman of the future – not to hold a spot for Freddie, but as a long term solution. He played some 1st in spring training for Bobby as well, so he’s well aware that Flowers has the skills.
Sickels has him at #5, I got him at #4. Just sayin’!

So maybe we’ll see this scene in Atlanta’s future:

by secondbass on Oct 23, 2008 8:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i understand rating Freeman a little lower than many have him, I always err on the side of caution wiht players who havent played above A ball. However 17 seems really low, i cant see himi not being in the top 10, esp considering by all accounts he proformed better than Heyward did this year, don’t take this to mean i think Freeman is better than Heyward im just pointing out Freeman was a little more consisten thatn Heyward.

Just wondering your justification for having him that low (freeman)?

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Oct 23, 2008 9:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and yes i realize grammer/spelling/typing is not a skill i possess

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Oct 23, 2008 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ah, you know I’m an English teacher?

Seriously, I am, so I usually just can’t help myself……

by secondbass on Oct 23, 2008 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ya i spend most of my day rewriting and editing papers for college, so i tend to let my self slip in terms of grammar and spelling, when im doign things that dont involve school

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Oct 23, 2008 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Misquoted myself....he's my #10

Looking back at my top 25, my top 10 were:
1. Jason Heyward
2. Tommy Hanson
3. Jordan Schafer
4. Tyler Flowers
5. Jeff Locke
6. Brandon Hicks
7. Kala Ka’aihue
8. Eric Campbell
9. Cody Johnson
10. Freddie Freeman

Hicks, KK, and Campbell got the nod over Freeman because of experience and the level of competition. Cody got it based on his habit of crushing the ball and the hope that he’ll cut down on the strikeouts.
As for putting Heyward over Freeman in the list, I kind of asked myself the same question when I did my rankings….and as much as I like Freddie, I’m just not as sold on him yet as everyone else is. Maybe it’s the fact that Heyward was the #1 pick, I don’t know.

Since he’s in my top 10, maybe we’re closer to the same ballpark now….pun fully intended!

by secondbass on Oct 23, 2008 9:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m a big fan of the big power/high OBP type guys. I just want to see him in the Braves lineup someday and I don’t care where. I wonder why they didn’t promote him to AA last year considering the year he was having.

by BravesFan on Oct 23, 2008 8:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Everything I've read...

indicates that Flowers is unlikely to stick as an ML catcher due to his defense. Sticking him at first is the very obvious solution when asked what to do with a catcher who can hit but can’t stay behind the plate. I say give him a shot there and see if he can do it.

by BraveBronco0121 on Oct 23, 2008 10:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’ve seen Tyler some over the last couple years and while he’s a decent catcher, he’s just not that great. He’s very big and his actions just aren’t as fluid as you’d like to see. The times I’ve seen him at first base he looked much better, still not gold glove material, but it seemed more right. And frankly, I doubt he could work in left field because he just doesn’t have the speed or athleticism for it. I agree that Pat The Bat is a butcher in the field, but he’s always been fairly athletic, he was a third baseman in college and is a little more fleet of foot than Flow is.

by cbwilk on Oct 24, 2008 3:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What do people think of him playing third base? Does he have a good arm? It could give us a top prospect at third – maybe even take over for Chipper in a few years.

by beeniez on Oct 24, 2008 2:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Flowers at first would be a good idea. Not only is he great with the stick, he may be able to occasionally start at C to give McCann a break and we won’t be stuck with a Sammons or Miller type behind the plate who couldn’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag.

by MatM on Oct 24, 2008 2:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the idea makes sense, in theory. however, if we groom him for 1st he wont be an effective replacement at catcher, even for a day. one would assume his defensive skills, which are already being questioned, would worsen without playing the position everyday. Also, if we use FLowers at First, who takes over at first, when flowers catches… likely it would be someone with slightly better offensive stats than sammons/miller, but would be worse defensively. At least when Sammons/Miller is catching we aren’t losing anything defensively.

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Oct 24, 2008 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I’d sacrifice the defense. Are offense seemed to be turned off when Sammons or Miller were in the line up.

Also I’d like to see Canizares be given a shot at coming off the bench this year, he seems to handle left handed pitching well. And that would fit well in this scenario if Flowers, the everyday first basemen, was giving Flowers a day off behind the plate, it’s probably because there is a tough lefty on the hill(and McCann needs a day off). Though Canizares and Flowers’ time lines may not match.

by MatM on Oct 24, 2008 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

see i would go the other way, i would much rather sacrifice the offense and have a solid defensive output. Although, i dont understand having Miller. nothing against Miller, but it seems that Sammons can do the same thing and is younger and is a better hitter. In my eyes, i think we can sacrfice offense from a position that is traditionally the weak spot of an offense anyways, but since C is such an important factor defensively i think it has more impact on the game.

But i definately see where you’re coming from.

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Oct 25, 2008 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Freeman at Third Base

I read somewherer that Freeman was a thirdbaseman and only move to 1B because another 3B prospect ( name escapes me at the moment). Don’t know if he is ML 3B material, but its a thought.

by braves99 on Oct 25, 2008 11:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He was a third baseman in high school, but I don’t think he moved off third because of another player (though if he did it might have been for Gilmore, since they both played for the GCL last season). I thought the Braves just felt he was more suited to first.

And beeniez asked about Flowers at third and I don’t really think that’d work for the same reason that I doubt he’d do well in the outfield, he’s just not that kind of athlete. I couldn’t see him coming in on a ball and throwing on the move.

by cbwilk on Oct 26, 2008 2:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs